


When you're done releasing sexual tensions, we have a meeting to continue

by mm8



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Charles isn't disabled, Get Together, I actually feel bad about that, M/M, dadneto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-28
Updated: 2016-11-28
Packaged: 2018-09-02 18:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8678809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mm8/pseuds/mm8
Summary: Same school. Same job. New year. New German teacher who is very attractive.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mutantgenesis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mutantgenesis/gifts).



> Borrowing one thing from the 90s X-Men animated series. & I call Pietro… Pietro. Cause that's his name. Oh! & yeah Shaw is the principal. I was going to do a plotline about that, but it didn't end up happening. Oh well. Maybe in another fic.
> 
> I hope you like this mutantgenesis!

_Late August_

 

Coming back to school, walking into his classroom, the dusty smell of chalk… it was like reuniting with an old friend. The halls still smelled the same, the desks in his classroom were smooth until the slight dip of a carving at student made, his ancient computer wheezing into life. It felt like coming home.

 

The first day back was always unnerving. Charles felt jittery the day all the teachers came back to the school. Students returned in two weeks and seeing the kids and holding classes? No, that never bothered him. Regrouping with the seasoned teachers, meeting the new ones, playing politics with the higher-ups… He hated all of that.

 

After he did the initial walkthrough of his classroom, Charles hurried across the high school to the cafeteria. That was something he had always disliked about the location of his class. His students endlessly complained that there wasn't enough time to return to class from lunch. The halls were too crowded, everyone shuffling awkwardly shoulder to shoulder to get where they were going. The cafeteria was on the first floor next to the main entrance. The school wasn't built for as many students as it currently enrolled, and there was only two staircases for students to use to get around on the upper floors. His classroom was on the fourth floor, the only one on the whole level. His room was double the size of a standard one. It was so there was enough room for all of the lab equipment, tables, and desks. The other teachers were very jealous.

 

The 'stroll' was very inconvenient for Charles as well because the teachers lounge was nearby the cafeteria. Most of the teachers liked to sit in there during their free period or to eat their lunch. It was a good 10 minute walk to go there to the lounge. It wasn't really worth it since he wasted 20 minutes of the 45 minute lunch getting to and back from his classroom. Over the years he had opted to sit and eat alone in his classroom. Sometimes Hank would eat with him if their lunch periods were at the same time. Last year they had different lunch times. Charles hoped that they would be able to have the same lunch period this year.

 

The cafeteria had a sign (well a sheet of printer paper) taped to the door that was written with a red permanent marker in loopy cursive 'TEACHERS MEETING @ 9AM. **NO EXCUSES**!!'

 

Charles rolled his eyes. Yes, it wasn't like Shaw's secretary hadn't sent out at least two emails a day for the last month about the meeting. 

 

As he pushed open one of the doors, Charles saw Hank and Alex sitting alone, and it looked like they were in a heated discussion as usual. There was a large backpack on the seat next to Hank, presumably saving a seat for their friend. Charles saw old faces from last year. Everyone sat in their little cliques. All of the math teachers were at the front of the long table. The art department instructors were in the middle. The science teachers were in the back. Alex was the only exception. He preferred to sit with friends rather than the rest of the gym teachers.

 

Charles noticed a thin man sitting by himself away from the rest of the group at the very end of the table. He was reading a book. German? It looked like the words were in German on the front cover. Not that Charles could read or speak German.The man was very handsome. He simply looked marvelous. Not the runaway model type exactly. The new teacher had a but of roughness about him. The telepath had a feeling that if the man stood to his full height the new teacher would have a good few inches on him. Charles hadn't realized that he was gaping at the new teacher until the man lifted his gaze from his novel and stared at him right back. His eyes… they were… sorrowful. Something had definitely happened to him to make his eyes look so… _old_. Charles was very tempted to use his gift to find out more about the man. He knew better however. Charles wasn't going to look into anyone's mind without proper permission first.

 

Charles blinked, turning away, flushing a little. He readjusted the strap of his satchel and shifted uncomfortably. Hank noticed his presence and waved him over. As Charles made his way over to his friends, he swore he could feel the man's eyes trained on him the entire time.

 

"Hey," Hank greeted as he grabbed his backpack and shoved it on the floor in-between his legs. He cocked his head over to the newcomer. "You know him?"

 

Charles shook his head. "No. Do you know who is he?" Meaning, do you know who he replaced?

Alex was the one who shrugged. "Not sure. Looks like there are a couple noobs." He stuck his thumb out and gestured to a few people down the table who didn't look familiar.

 

Hank sighed, "Shaw isn't here of course. Not that's something new. How was your vacation in Scotland?" he asked completely changing the subject.

 

"Very nice. Very nice." Charles smiled softly. "Moira says hello, by the way."

 

Hank's mood seemed to brighten. "Cool. How's her research going?"

 

"It's going. Right before I left her team thought they were on the brink of some progress. The last couple of days I barely saw her."

 

"That sucks man," Alex said noncommittally. "Does that mean you two didn't--"

 

Charles rolled his eyes. "I told you, it's not like that anymore. Moira and I… we've moved on. That's all."

 

Alex shook his head. "Whatever you say."

 

Charles took his seat on the utterly uncomfortable glorified stool. It was almost barbaric for the students to have to sit on these things. As he readjusted his seat, Charles glanced toward the end of the table again. He was surprised to see that the new teacher was looking his way. They locked eyes again. The man seemed intrigued by him. One of his eyebrows was cocked and there was a hint of a smile. The new teacher had a long face, pale eyes, neatly kept brown hair. He quite was handsome. There was something more though that piqued Charles' interest. He couldn't figure out what that was.

 

_Early October_

September had come and gone. The weather was unseasonably warm for autumn. Charles opted to axe his usual jacket and roll up the sleeves of his nice shirt up to his elbows. The windows to his classroom were open all the way on hopes to get a breeze. 

 

It was his free period and instead of working on grading tests or planning out a the next unit, Charles was playing chess. He was playing with himself, but it was quite beneficial.

 

Just as he was about to declare checkmate, Charles felt the vague awareness that a person was an adult male, few years older than him. 

 

Charles recoiled his hand from the board and rested both hands in his lap. He watched as the new German teacher stopped at the door, poised to knock until he saw that there was no need.

 

"Are you Mr. Xavier?"

 

Charles was taken aback. He'd hadn't expected that the teacher to speak with a heavy German accent like his predecessor. But low and behold, the man sounded a bit Irish.

 

"My name is on the chalkboard." Charles pointed to the top of the left-hand side. In the corner it still read: 'Welcome to Mr. Xavier's class. Please follow all instructions for safety'.

 

The man quirked his lips upwards. "You could have very well been a substitute."

 

"Except you knew that I wasn't. It would be very peculiar for a sub to attend all of the staff meetings." Charles readjusted his sleeves. "Been quite a long time since I substituted for a teacher."

 

Mr. Lehnsherr kicked off the door and slowly stepped into the door with his hands buried deep in his pockets. "Oh really? How long has it been?"

 

He tilted his head back and forth, humming. "Probably… ten years or so?" When his co-worker didn't respond, Charles continued, "I received my bachelor's degree when I was eighteen. I finished up my PhD not long ago." Charles shrugged as it was unimportant. "People say I'm a genius."

 

"And are you?"

 

Charles hinted at a small smile. "Maybe." He moved the mouse of his computer to wake it up. "What are you doing here? I assume you did not come only to chat about my credentials."

 

He looked back up to see Mr. Lehnsherr in a bit if a daze. The teacher stared at him, or perhaps above him. Charles felt a bit flush as the other's stare continued. It wasn't uncomfortable. It took Charles by surprise was all.

 

Just as the telepath was about to ask his question again, Mr. Lehnsherr snapped out if it, blinking slowly and shaking his head. "I'm so sorry. One of my students, Jean Grey, is continuingly late to my class after having yours. She claimed at the walk from yours to mine was a long one. I didn't believe her so I made the long journey myself. Took me seven minutes when the students have three to switch classes."

 

"Yes, I get that complaint a lot." He opened one of desk drawers and pulled out a light purple form and began to fill in the blanks with his pen. "Here's a pass for Ms. Grey. It allows her to be in the hallways for a few minutes after the bell. You'll have to give your consent as well."

 

Mr. Lehnsherr leaned over his desk to sign his name on the bottom of the permission slip. Charles couldn't keep his eyes off the German teacher's form. The way his arms flexed with each stroke. How the pen looked so tiny in Mr. Lehnsherr's hand. 

 

Once the man was finished, he stood up to his full height, towering over Charles. "There. All done." Mr. Lehnsherr placed the pen down on the piece of paper. 

 

"Ah, yes. I will go ahead and hand this over to Shaw who will give it to his secretary to approve. Not sure why we can't cut out the middleman."

 

Mr. Lehnsherr chuckled, placing his hands in his pockets again. "Yes, I do see your point. Do tell me when it is approved, Charles? I highly doubt that Shaw will bother to inform us." 

 

As the teacher started to walk away, Charles spoke up. "Wait! How do you know my name?"

 

"The permission slip, of course."

 

Charles took a look at the paper on his desk. It very loopy cursive the name 'Erik Lehnsherr' was below his own on the line below.

 

"Do you play chess?"

 

Charles glanced at his chess board for moment. "Yes. I don't know anyone who plays though, so I play by myself."

 

"I do,"Erik informed. "I haven't played in quite awhile. Would you like it if we played together?"

 

"Of course!" Charles might have said a little too eagerly. 

 

"As long as you don't cheat using your powers."

 

The telepath was a bit shocked that Erik knew his ability, but put the thought in the back of his mind. "I never use my powers to pry into people's heads without their permission first."

 

Erik nodded, a small smile forming. "Good to know. Tomorrow then? During this period. It appears as though we are both free."

 

"Yes, that'd be lovely. I'll see you tomorrow."

 

"Tomorrow." Erik turned on his heel and walked away. Charles could hear the echos of the footsteps descending the staircase.

 

_Late October_

"You're thirty-two?"

 

"You seem surprised, Charles."

 

The chemistry was taken aback. "You're nearly ten years older than me."

 

"Glad to see that your maths skills are as sharp as ever."

 

Charles kicked him under the table and Erik laughed. 

 

"I never would have guessed," Charles commented as he moved his Knight.

 

"Why? Because I look older than that?"

 

"No! You look much younger. Are you sure that your power isn't aging slowly."

 

"No. Just metal manipulation." Erik proved his point by capturing one of Charles' pawns with his power. "I always have felt ill at ease if I am not in contact with metal. It doesn't seem _right_."

 

They were silent for a bit, concentrating on the game. "Would--" Charles bit the inside of his cheek. "Have you seen that new movie out now? The Harry Potter spin-off?"

 

"Ah, no. I haven't. Some of my students have though. Can't stop talking about it in class, so I made them discuss the film in German."

 

Charles gulped, feeling flush all over. "Are you free this Saturday?"

 

Erik's grey eyes were enormous when he met Charles' gaze. The telepath was surprised to not see disgust or any sort of hatred. On the contrary, Erik seemed to be elated. 

 

As soon as Charles' hope rose, they were dashed away once his friend's face fell, starting back at the chess board. "I must apologize, Charles. I'm not free then. I have quite a few tests to grade, and I am tutoring a couple students for most of the afternoon. Some other time perhaps?"

 

"Yeah, some other time." Charles had a feeling that _some other time_ would never come.

 

_Mid November_

Charles really hated Parent-Teacher conferences. Not that he thought it was a complete and total waste of his time, but it was a waste of his time. Every parent that walked into his classroom thought that their child was the next Sherlock Holmes. It was on the tip of his tongue to politely inform them that Holmes was completely fictional. Alas, he didn't want to piss off these parents _too_ much.

 

"Jubilation is a wonderful student, Mrs. Lee--"

 

"That's not my name," interrupted the woman sitting across his desk. "Jubilee is our foster daughter. You can call me Martha."

 

"Well, Martha, as I was saying Jubilation is a wonderful student, but she's a bit… I suppose the polite word would be that she's mischievous."

 

Martha was dressed in a khaki pants, a thick green sweater and a pair of white tennis shoes. Across her lap lay a black pocket book that she seemed to fiddle with the strap of out of habit. "Mischievous?"

 

"Ah yes. The other day she was on my computer so she could use Facebook, and when I caught her, she… well let's say she used her powers and destroyed it." Charles gestured over his shoulder to a pile of melted plastic and glass residing where his computer had once been. 

 

"Is that why she had a day of in-school suspension? "

 

"Yes," he said more confidently. "That was why."

 

"Because she accidently used her powers?" Martha seemed more than annoyed. 

 

"Ah, no. She received the suspension because she was using a teacher's computer without permission to go on Facebook when she was supposed to be writing down her observations on the effect acid rain has on her table's plant. That's why."

 

"I know Jubilee didn't do it."

 

Charles blinked. He _knew_ that she _knew_ her foster daughter had caused the mess. He'd heard other teachers talk about how Jubilee blew up things like calculators, digital clocks, and even the school's expensive e-textbooks. He assumed that this student was very much the same at home.

 

"I'll be going Mr. Xavier," Martha rose, looking down her nose at him before stomping away, her heels squeaking against the floor as she walked.

 

Charles slumped into his chair. Why couldn't any of these meetings go smoothly? It made for an exhausting evening. What stressed him out more was that after this he had to grade four classes worth of pop quizzes. 

 

A quiet rapping against the frame of his door startled him. Charles gaped when he saw the new German language teacher. The one who had never said a word to him, only stared. 

 

"Am I interrupting?"

 

Charles nearly jumped out of his chair. He stated wide eyed to find Erik leaning against the door frame, still dressed in his usual dark turtleneck and dress slacks. 

 

The telepath tried his best to school back his growing feelings towards Erik. Over the past few weeks he'd become dear friends. Erik made the trek to his classroom on the fourth floor of during their free periods to play chess and chat about politics and ethics. It was quite nice to have a companion. However, during their time together Charles felt the stirrings of butterflies in his stomach whenever Erik walked into the room. He found himself staring at the shape of Erik's lips when pressed together in deep concentration. He paid attention to Erik's hands as he would move the metal pieces across the board. He might have daydreamed about Erik once or twice when be was supposed to be planning a lesson. Charles knew that he hadn't felt like his for anyone since Moira. It frightened him, but at the same time he felt just as excited.

 

"Hello, my friend," Charles greeted as he stood from his seat. "What can I do for you?"

 

Erik's expression turned blank, something Charles hadn't seen since the first day they met. "I signed up for a parent-teacher conference."

 

Charles lifted a brow. "Oh? Who on earth are--?"

 

"Pietro and Wanda," Erik grunted as he sat down at one of the student's' desk.

 

Charles inhaled a breath. Oh dear God. Where was he going to _start_?

 

_Late November_

"Is there something up with you and Erik?"

 

Charles' head shot up to look at Hank. For the past few minutes, the telepath hadn't been paying attention to anyone or anything but his thai noodles. He'd been doing nothing but swirling them around the plastic container with his chop sticks. It was one of the rare times that Hank dragged him to the teachers lounge for lunch. Charles found it hard to concentrate. His mind had been preoccupied by a certain German teacher as of late. "I'm sorry, what?"

 

Hank eyed him and sighed. "Did something happen between you and Erik?" he asked again. "Things always seem a bit tense whenever you two are in the same room."

 

Charles played dumb. "Whatever do you mean?"

 

"C'mon you know. Last week when we were in here having lunch, you insisted we leave because he was in here. And this morning at the meeting all you and Erik did was stare at each other like you wanted to rip each others' throats. What's up with that?"

 

Charles shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing really, my friend. His children behaved badly in my class, and he refused to accept this fact. He blamed me. We had some harsh words. Erik and I haven't spoken since then."

 

Hank raised an eyebrow and looked at him quizzically. "Who are his kids? I haven't seen any Lehnsherrs in my classes. Are they freshman?" Hank taught advanced chemistry, therefore all of his students were seniors.

 

Charles shook his head. "They have different last names. _Maximoff_."

 

"Maximoff? I don't have any Maximoffs either."

 

"Twins," the telepath supplied. "Pietro and Wanda. Sophomores. Pietro has white hair and can talk, run, and think at supersonic speeds. His sister's powers are more than a bit unstable. She hasn't learned how to properly control them yet. She has chaos magic, mind manipulation, and even probability manipulation. Wanda's quite powerful."

 

His friend's eyes were practically popped out from their sockets. "Whoa. That's… erm… Wow."

 

"They worked together to steal students' notes and my questions and answers for a rather important test that is 40% of their grade. Oh, Wanda attempted to erase the class' memory so they would be the only ones to score full points."

 

"Holy shit." Hank pushed up his glasses with his fingers. "That's-- That's really unethical." 

 

Charles nodded in agreement. "Yes, I know. I am surprised that they did not receive a harsher punishment. Erik scheduled a parent-teacher conference, and he, like all parents, refused to believe that his children could have done such a thing, and accused me of somehow manipulating his childrens' minds with my powers." He stabbed at a bunch of noodles and slurped them up.

 

"Are you kidding me?"

 

"No, I am not."

 

Hank sat back in his seat. "Wow. And here me and Alex figured you two were fucking."

 

Charles spluttered, almost choking on his lunch. Hank had to pat him on the back to make sure that he was alright. 

 

"Wait _are_ you two--" Hank exclaimed. 

 

At that moment, the door to the teachers lounge swung open and Erik strolled in, eyes locked on his cell phone. He was in the room only a few feet, Erik glanced up and stopped cold, his angry glare set on Charles. They stared at each other for several moments, neither of them wanting to be the first to look away. Despite them being pissed at each other, Charles couldn't help but feel a warmth in his stomach as he gawked at Erik.

 

"I believe I know when I'm not wanted." Erik stated, rather passive-aggressively. He turned on his heel, and left the teacher's lounge.

 

Hank opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment the bell rang signaling that the current lunch period was over. He didn't get a chance to say goodbye to his friend as he leaped out of his chair and ran to his classroom.

 

All he could think of for the rest of the day was Erik. Erik and his voice. Erik and his tall frame. Erik and his smile. Erik and his intelligence. Maybe Hank was right in a way. If they hadn't been feuding, Charles would have at least asked him out to dinner. That didn't look like it was going to happen. _Ever_.

 

_Early December_

 

It was a cold Tuesday morning. Since last Friday the cold weather had really set in. The days started out below freezing and then 'warmed up' into the low 40s. This morning Charles had gotten up and ready very early. He didn't have to be at the school until 7:30, but when he parked his car in his assigned spot, it was 6:50. 

 

Today was going to be an easy day. He had planned to show videos to all of his classes and have them do whatever work they wanted while he was going to catch up on grading tests.

 

As he was about to unlock the door to his class, he paused and noticed that the door was completely wide open. Charles put his fingers to his temple, searching out for a mind that was inside. It took him a few seconds, but when he did find the intruder he abruptly pulled back. The mind was going _too fast_. It was chaotic and not pleasant.

 

"You can come in. It's your room after all."

 

Charles sighed, rolling his eyes. Of course. Just of course. "Pietro, what are you doing in here?" he asked as he walked in and tossed his satchel on his desk. This was how he wanted to start his school day. Not catching up on grading, not chatting with Hank or Alex. _This_ was what he'd looked forward to. 

 

The speedster was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest on one of the old radiators by the row of windows, looking outside. "Wanda's with dad right now trying to distract him. Or really give him the same talk I'm giving you. We thought we better have an intervention." Suddenly Pietro was right in front of Charles, invading his space. "We're sorry that we were assholes. We got a stupid lecture from almost everyone. What we did was a dick move. It was fun while we did it, but holy shit suspension _sucks_."

 

Charles pushed his student back with his pointer finger, luckily Pietro allowed with this even though it would have been easy for the student to simply dodge Charles' finger. "What's your point? An apology? You and Wanda wrote multiple lengthy essays during your suspension on why what you did was terrible. You don't have to apologize more than that."

 

In the blink of an eye, Pietro was on the other side of the classroom, looking through one of the microscopes and switching slides. "You and dad need to get over it. It's obvious to all of us that you two have boners for each other."

 

"Pietro! You can't speak to me like that."

 

"Sorry Prof." And there was Pietro again, invading his bubble. "My point is still there. Dad likes you and you like him. What's the problem?"

 

"You have it all wrong." Charles crossed his arms over his chest. "It's really not like that at all. Your father--"

 

"Is a stubborn _dummkopf_ who doesn't want to admit when he's wrong. We see the way he looks at you. Half of all he does at home is talk about you. All he did during break was talk about you! So kiss and make-up so me and Wanda can go back to our normal lives."

 

 _There_ it was. The reason Pietro was here. "Pietro you can't say all this because you are uncomfortable--"

 

"If you don't believe me ask Mr. Summers. Or Miss. Salvadore. Or hell even Principal _Shaw_. Everyone knows." Pietro let out a long exhale. "Just _talk_ to him. This squabble is getting annoying."

 

Then Pietro was gone. 

 

Charles collapsed into his chair.

 

What the hell was that?

 

_Late December_

 

The connection wasn't good at all. Moira kept fading in and out and more often than not she sounded staticy. He swore that if their connection was cut off again that he was done video chatting. He'd told Moira as such.

 

Charles had his phone propped up against a canister full of sugar. He was baking winter themed cakes for all of his classes since tomorrow would be the day before Christmas break. Any students who came in would get quite the treat.

 

"Hank has this notion that we're having sex," Charles vented as he mixed all of his ingredients in a large bowl. "Preposterous! We've barely spoken since the parent-teacher conferences!"

 

Moira yawned, "Don't need to talk to have sex."

 

Charles' eyes bugged out as he stared at the screen. "God, Moira!" 

 

"You woke me up in the middle of the night wanting to chat, what did you expect?" She rubbed around her eyes, sighing deeply. "What are you upset about Charles? That you had a disagreement with him a month ago?"

 

"No! Yes!" Charles raked his hands through his hair before realizing he got cake batter in it. He went over to the kitchen sink to wash his hands. He yelled over the sound of the running water, "I dunno what I want Moira. I want all this to be simple. I hate this high school drama. I want to--" He turned off the faucet and leaned against the counter, side-eyeing Moira as he spoke. "I want to get to know him better. I want to learn his quirks and his favorite things, even what he despises. I want to play chess with Erik during our free time. I want..." He bit his lower lip and shook his head. Charles didn't feel like explaining to his ex that he really, _really_ wanted to get _close_ to Erik. It was something he hadn't expressed out loud, even if everyone seemed to know it.

 

"I think Hank has it wrong. It's not that you exactly want to jump this guy's bones. You want something more out of it."

 

Charles didn't respond. He didn't have to since Moira already knew she was right.

 

"Charles," Moira had put on her 'don't mess with me because you know that I am right' aire. "I can only advise so much. At the end of the day I'm only seeing things from your side and not the whole picture. If Alex and Hank have noticed something, and if his guy's son told you his dad was interested in you, I'm not sure how to argue with that. You care about him right?" She didn't even pause to let him answer. "You care about him one way or the other that you keep venting about him to me. You need to decide why you keep thinking about him. Do you want to be friends? Do you want to be lovers? Do you hate his guts? Either get over this bullshit and forgive him or cut him out of your--"

 

Ironically, that was when Moira's video call was dropped.

 

____________

 

The last bell dinged ten minutes ago, signaling the start of Christmas break. Charles was about finished packing up his things. All he had left was his lesson planner. He was trying to shove it in his full satchel when there was a knock on the door. It was probably Hank or Alex wanting to go to a sports bar to celebrate."Come in guys. I'm almost done."

 

"Am I welcome?"

 

Charles stilled. A wave of dread washed over him. That voice. That damn voice that had been haunting his dreams for weeks. He wanted to tell Erik to fuck off. He wanted to kiss him for the very first time. He wanted to be rude. Charles figured since they were at work, he should make nice. Without turning around, he replied, "Yes, yes you are."

 

Charles heard quiet shuffling of feet, not the the usual heavy footsteps that he was used to. He didn't want to see Erik. He didn't want to do something stupid and let his anger get the best of him. He pretended to move about papers to make it look like he was in the middle of something so Erik might take a hint and go. "What do you want Erik?"

 

The sound of pieces shaking inside of a box caught Charles' attention. Erik was standing a few feet away, holding a boxed chess set. "Truce?" Erik sounded so _vulnerable_. It was the first time that Charles thought Erik's expression matched the sadness in his eyes.

 

"Sure. I haven't had anyone decent to play chess with in over a month."

 

Erik softly smiled at that.

 

They prepared the board and played the game in silence. Erik wasn't using his powers to move his pieces as he typical did. It appeared that both mutants were out of practice. The first game seemed to go on forever, both of them making plenty of mistakes.

 

At one point while Erik was taking his time and thinking of his next move, Charles spotted Hank and Alex arriving at his door. At the sight before them, his friends seemed flabbergasted. Charles shook his fiercely shook his head and they slowly retreated.

 

In the end, Charles won. They cleared the board and set everything up in the correct places. Charles figured that the tense silence between them would go on. But he was mistaken when Erik broke it. "I was rather rash."

 

Charles only flickered his eyes toward Erik, and then back down to the chess board. "Oh?"

 

"I was a fool. I'm protective of my children. I don't regret that. But when your children find out what you have done and turn on you _calling_ you a fool and give very good reasons… Something has to be said by that." Erik used the King's Pawn opening move. "You did nothing wrong, Charles. I was the one entirely at fault. I know that you would _never_ manipulate my childrens' minds or any of the students. I lost my head. Can you ever forgive me?"

 

"I do, my friend. _Of course_ I do. However, you are wrong in your statement. I could have easily been an adult and got over my feelings and at least spoken to you civilly."

 

"I didn't exactly do that either." Erik cast his eyes off the board and stared at Charles. "Do you… Have you gotten over other feelings towards me?"

 

"No," Charles admitted. "No I have not gotten over my feelings." He blushed at the comment as vague as it was. They both knew what was being discussed though. 

 

"Would you be amenable to seeing a film with me?" Erik asked shyly. "Wanda and Pietro prefer action films, but I heard that the one on Jackie O. was quite good. If that's alright with you?"

 

Charles leaned across the chessboard and pecked Erik's rough beard. "Yes, that would be lovely."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you can please leave comments or kudos.


End file.
